Masai Ujiri got a baptism by fire — he was named the Nuggets general manager and a few months later Carmelo Anthony was forcing his way out of town with a trade. It was a circus around the Nuggets.

But Ujiri stood calmly in the middle of that storm, patiently waiting to get a good deal (or waiting for James Dolan to cave, either way). He got it, and with that trade as the catalyst he rebuilt the Nuggets as one of the NBA’s best teams this season. A team without a traditional star as the anchor, but one that plays fast, is entertaining and won 57 games, a franchise record.